A little over a year ago, I started researching homeschooling. We were in the midst of many transitions as a family. I knew the Lord was pulling me towards homeschooling our children but we just had SO much going on. I couldn't imagine how I could ever make it work and I wasn't sure that Nathan was completely on board with it. Looking back on that time, I can recognize it as the "pray and wait" phase! I was in constant prayer over what to do with our future and I honestly felt like it was so unknown. I couldn't have imagined that a year could bring so much understanding and clarity. The Lord has truly blessed our family and we have learned to trust Him in this transitional time. I am SUPER excited to announce that we are starting Olivia in her kindergarten level curriculum this summer. We moved to a new house recently, and the basement is one of my favorite rooms now. I had to share pictures now that it is set up and ready to use!
This is the view coming down from the stairs. I am extremely excited about our makeshift white board! We went with the DIY method and used shower board. It cost about $20 for the whole board. We picked up the desks for $5 a piece from a local homeschool mom. LOVE them!
Our toy storage is always a little messy... But we like to keep our favorites where we can get to them easily. This is where we keep our felt board, our puzzles, sorting blocks, and some manipulatives.
That bookshelf is supposed to be the dividing line between homeschool room and man cave. The baby toys are in the man cave in this photo. Ooops.... I do think it's awesome to have a big screen TV and comfy furniture in the same area as our homeschool room though!
This bookshelf is school supplies and crafts that need to be out of reach of small hands.
This shelf houses all of our non-curriculum books and teaching resources, along with a few games. Notice the big books on the floor?! We got those at a yard sale and they are AWESOME. We have some finger puppets and crafts stored in the baskets and jars on top of the bookcase.
I love that we can open the back door and get some fresh air if we need to! This is right off the school room and we are planning to put a swingset back here soon. :)
This is the view looking back towards the stairs. We do have a bathroom in our homeschool room, which will come in handy for arts and crafts when we need sink access for hand washing!
Nathan and I went to a homeschooling seminar and curriculum fair in our town a few weeks ago where we got lots of new ideas from other parents. It was really nice to go without the older girls (Ellie came along but she slept most of the time, thankfully!) so we could ask questions and really devote our attention to the speakers. We browsed several tables full of different material. Upon leaving, we both were in agreement that our favorites were Sonlight and Abeka. I have always been a fan of Abeka, but I think the kindergarten level material may be a little TOO challenging for Olivia and the pre-kindergarten material is not challenging enough. Since she will only be 4 1/2 when we start our school year, we wanted something more in between. I LOVE Sonlight because it is a literature based program. Olivia has such a strong love of books that I know she will respond well to the program. We opted for Horizons for math and Handwriting Without Tears for handwriting and spelling. I have prayed over which programs to choose and I think that we ultimately made the right decision. Sonlight is one of the more expensive programs out there, but I do think it will be worth while, especially since we can reuse most of the materials for the babies when they get to kindergarten level. The plan for now is to start Olivia's schooling this summer, and school year round. I love the idea of being able to take a vacation (school free) whenever we want! I am so thankful for our supportive family and friends. We are so blessed to have each and every person God has placed in our lives. I will update with more pictures soon!
-Maegan
